The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for manipulating stacks of sheets, panels, plates or analogous commodities, especially paper sheets. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus for manipulating rows of stacked sheets of paper or the like. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus wherein sheets or stacks of sheets are supplied to a collecting or gathering station where the stacks are caused to form an array and from which the stacks of the array are transferred to removing or evacuating means, e.g., for delivery to a packing machine. Apparatus to which the present invention pertains can be utilized for manipulation of stacks which are assembled from paper sheets, cardboard sheets or panels, paper board panels, metallic or plastic foils, sheets or panels and the like.
In many presently known production lines, sheets of paper or the like are piled up into stacks in such a way that several stacks are formed next to each other in a simultaneous operation. For example, a wide running strip of paper can be subdivided into a plurality of narrower strips or webs which are thereupon severed by suitable cross cutters to yield streams of successive partially overlapping or non-overlapping sheets. The sheets of each stream are gathered into a succession of stacks, and such gathering operation can take place at a collecting station whence the stacks are transferred onto removing conveyor means for transport to a packing machine, to storage or to another destination.
Published German patent application No. 27 08 131 discloses an apparatus wherein two packing machines are coupled with a single sheet making machine. Each packing machine is connected to the sheet making machine by a discrete conveyor. The sheet making machine turns out successive rows of eight stacks each. The arrangement is such that four stacks of each of a series of successively assembled rows of eight stacks each are conveyed to one of the packing machines and the other four stacks are conveyed to the other packing machine. If one of the two packing machines happens to be out of commission, all of the stacks of each row are conveyed to the other (operative) packing machine. To this end, the system which is disclosed in the aforementioned German patent application employs a rather complex and expensive transverse conveyor assembly which can transfer stacks from the inoperative packing machine to the other packing machine.